"Blacken the sky Can't stand to see the sun The truth of light Reveals the hatred that has won" – I Saw The End by Pallbearer

There are many different forms of noise. There is the noise that is your neighbor’s dog barking at four in the morning, or the noise that a child emits when they get a hold of pots and pans. Noise is often thought as something that is hard to stand, abrasive, not tolerable, but not all noise has to fall into that category at all. ni, the band hailing from France is noise, but in such a beautiful sense. Les insurges de Romilly is the brand new album by these guys, and man is it fun to listen to.

ni mix math metal, noise, jazz and probably some others that I’m failing to mention. Mixing such things together would be just as wonderfully delicious as mixing toad eyes, cat tails and whatever else that’s gross into one sickening potion. With ni, they have no toad eyes, tails or anything of the vomit inducing variety. Instead what is laid in front of us here is something that is truly eye popping, mind bending and ear pleasing. With everything that they mix together, they do it so well. It never sounds once like someone stuck genres in a blender and mixed them into one bleeding, writhing mass of nothingness.

ni complete a hat trick here fusing multiple things at once to bring Les insurges de Romilly to life. The spicy riffs, the jazz/horn sections, pin point drumming, the ever relentless bass leave you wondering if this wasn’t perhaps crafted in a secret heavy metal lab. The lead singer does not scream-or sing-very often, but he really doesn’t need to. The musicianship here is of great skill. The album sets ablaze with the opener Bouif, and never once does it lay off the throttle. With the exception of little bits here and there where there is a little dialogue, Les insurges de Romilly roars with jazzy metallic ferocity.

It’s not all just a symphony of noise though. The album does offer up some groove to go along with all of this madness. There is structure, believe me. Without it, it may just have ended up sounding like the inner workings of a mad man’s head that is hooked on LSD. With everything happening so fast on this album, you don’t have to worry since most of the songs are over the five minute mark or even over it. There is enough dizzying metal here to be had and enjoyed. So by all means, enjoy it.